Lasting device.



W. H. ATKINS. LASTING DEVICE. APPLICATION man AUG-23. 191a.

Patented June 22, 1915.

WILLIAM H. airs, on iuA'nIson, Wisconsin, assienoa, :eir nasn'sASSIGNMENTS,

cisttns n. BOWMAN, or mamsolv, WISCONSIN.

LASTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pat nted June 22, 119M.

Application filed August 23, 1913. Serial No. 786,207.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. ATKINs, acitizen of the United States, and resident of Madison, county of Dane,and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements inLasting Devices, of which the following is a description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of thisspecification.

My invention has relation to improvements in lasting devices, and moreparticularly to a device for lasting the toe portion of a boot or shoe.

In the manufacture of shoes, it has been customary to press the upperover the last by hand, and then press outwardly the margin of the shoeupper, both along the sides of the shoe, and around the boxed toeportion of the shoe. It has also been customary to unite this pressedout margin, with an under thin layer of leather, the latter extendingback around the heel portion of the upper of the shoe, both the marginof the upper, and the said thin layer of leather, being coated withcement, so that the opposed cemented surfaces will be caused to adhereto each other, when the parts are pressed together. This pressingtogether of the marginal portion of the upper, and the under thin layerof leather, has heretofore been accomplished by finger pressure. Thispractice, has been found objectionable, in view of the fact that when itis attempted to press by the fingers, the marginal toe portion of theupper against the corresponding portion of the under thin layer ofleather,

a series of wrinkles is produced, in the.

leather around the toe portion of the shoe, thus mar-ring considerablythe appearance of the shoe.

It is, therefore, the primary object of my invention to provide amechanical means for pressing the cemented under side of the marginaltoe portion of the upper, against the cemented upper side of the underthin layer of leather, in order to provide for temporarily uniting theseparts together, previous to the stitching operation, the mechanicalpressing together of the parts referred to avoiding to a large extent,the unsightly wrinkling of the leather, which ordinarily arises, whenthe pressing together of the parts is accomplished by hand.

I With the above primary object, and other incidental objects, in view,the invention consists of the devices and parts, or the equivalentsthereof, as are hereinafter more the shoe being operated upon, beingindicated by dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a sectional view, on an enlargedscale, of the upper portion of Fig. 1 the shoe and its contained lastbeing shown in section, and the pivoted toe lasting device being shownin section, in the position which it assumes when in the act ofpressing, and being shown in dotted lines in its normal position; and,Fig. 3 is a plan View of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 4: indicates the lower plate, orbed, of the toe lasting mechanism. This plate, or bed, may be supportedhorizontally by any desired means, as, for instance, by supportsextending downwardly directly therefrom. This plate, however, in orderto stand the maximum wear, is usually of metal, and, being ofcomparatively small area longitudinally and transversely, is secured bymeans vof screws 5, to the wooden top 6, of a suitable table, one of thevertical uprights, or legs 7 of said table, being shown in theaccompanying drawing.

The upper pressure plate of the lasting device, is indicated by thenumeral 8, and this plate is pivoted at its rear end, to the bed plate4. The pivotal connection may be formed in any desired manner, but as itis desirable oftentimes to remove the pressure plate 8, in order toreverse it, or in. other words, to turn the side which waspreviouslyundermost to an uppermost position, or toremove entirely one plate, andsubstitute another of a diiferent form, I provide a pivotal connectionbetween the two plates, of'such character that the plate 8 can bereadily disconnected at the pivotal point. For this purpose, the rearend of the bed plate 4 is turned upwardly into approximate hook form, asindicated by the numeral 9. The rear end of the pressure plate isadvisably rounded, and this rounded end fits in the rounded recessformed by the hook 9, and consequently the outer end of the pressureplate is formed to turn freely upwardly and downwardly.

As will be clearly seen from the drawing, the outer free end of thepressure plate, is formed with an inwardly-extending rounded, orarc-shaped recess 10, of such rounded contour as to conform to the shapeof the shoe toe.

Any suitable mechanism for holding the pressure plate in its normalraised, or uplifted position, shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and indotted lines in Fig. 2, and in the depressed position shown by fulllines in Fig. 2, may be provided. For holding said plate in its raised,or uplifted position, however, I prefer to employ a coiled spring 11.This coiled spring extends through an opening 12 formed in the bed plate4, and its lower end is seated in the bottom of a socket 13 formed inthe table top 5, while its upper end bears against the under side of thepressure plate 8. The expansive force of this spring necessarily holdsthe pressure plate 8 normally in the raised position illustrated in fulllines in Fig. 1, and by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The preferred means for pulling the pressure plate 8 downwardly intopressing engagement with the marginal portion of the toe portion of theshoe upper, consists of a rod 14, which passes through the coils of thespring, with its upper end extending through an elongated slot 15,formed in ,the pressure plate 8. The upper end of this rod is providedwith a transverse head 16 intersecting or extending across the slot 15.This head portion is slightly less in length than the length of the slot15, so that when the rod 14- is turned to bring the length of the headinto alinement with the length of the slot, the said rod can be readilywithdrawn through the slot.

Some means should be provided for pulling downwardly upon the rod 14,and thereby causing a forcible descent of the outer free end of thepressure plate against the contrary force exerted by the coiled spring11. The preferred mechanism for accomplishing this purpose, consists ofa lever 17, which, at its forward end, has a pivotal connection 18, withthe under side of the table top. The lower end of the rod 14 ispivotally connected to this lever, by means of a bolt 19. The rear endof lever 17 articulates with, or is pivotally connected to, a link 20,and the lower end of this link, in turn, is pivotally connected to afoot treadle 21, the said foot treadle having its fulcrum at the point22. The free outer end of this treadle carries a foot-piece 23, and

pivotally connected to the under side of this foot-piece is a short link24, one end of said link being connected to a medial point of a dog 25,said dog, in turn, being pivotally connected to the treadle, and beingadapted to engage any of a series of teeth, formed on a segmental orarc-shaped upright 26.

The numeral 27 indicates the shoe upper to be operated upon, and 28(Fig. 2) the shoe last contained within said upper.

In the operation of the mechanism, the outstanding marginal edges of theshoe upper, are coated upon the under side thereof, with a suitablecement, and the thin layer of sole leather 28 is similarly coated, andthe two then brought together. By means of finger pressure, the gluedparts are united, as far as the toe portion of the upper. A shoe upperoperated upon, as thus far described, is shown by the dotted lines inFig. 1. The forward, or toe portion of this shoe upper, is now placedupon the bed plate 4, the pressure plate 8 being in its normal raisedposition. Foot pressure is now exerted upon the foot-piece 23, of thetreadle 21, to cause a down movement of said treadle. This willnecessarily also cause a down movement of the link 20, and theconsequent-turning downwardly on its pivot of the lever 17, whichnecessarily will draw downwardly the rod 14, against the contrarypressure exerted by the spring 11. The down movement of the rod 14, willcause a down pressure of the transverse head 16, of said rod, upon theupper side of the pressure plate 8, and consequently will cause adescent of the outer end of said pressure plate, bringing the borderingedge of the recess 10 of said pressure plate, into engagement with theoutstanding marginal rim, or projection of the shoe upper. This willbring the entire toe portion of the shoe downwardly, and cause themarginal outstanding portion of the toe of the shoe, to come intocontact with the under thinlayer of sole leather 28, and thereby serveto unite the cemented surfaces of said toe margin with said under layerof leather, and this without causing numerous wrinkles around the toe ofthe shoe, which is ordinarily occasioned when the marginal toe portionof the shoe is attempted to be united to the leather layer 28, by fingerpressure. The pressure plate 8 is thus held downwardly for a sufficientlength of time to insure the adhesion of the cemented surfaces. Pressureon the foot-piece 23 is then re moved, and the pressure plate is causedby the action of the coiled spring 1], to resume its normal upliftedposition, ready for a repetition of the operation.

It will, of course, be understood that the operation thus far described,applies to only certain preliminary operations in the manufacture ofshoes, and that following the action of the mechanism herein shown anddescribed, the usual welt is applied around and over the outstandingmarginal flange of the shoe upper, and the under sole is applied to theunder side of the thin leather strip 28', and stitches are then madethrough the marginal flange, the layer 28' and the under sole portion,and that the parts are then trimmed ofi' evenly in the usual way. Thepresent invention, therefore, relates to the means for uniting themarginal outstanding portion of the shoe toe to the under thin layer ofleather, by mechanical means.

It will be noted that the opening 12, in the base a, and the socket 13,in the table top 5, are disposed at an angle, with the said socket andopening registering. This necessarily positions both the coiled springll, and the bolt H, at an angle. This angular arrangement is desirable,in view of the connection between the lower end of the bolt, and thelever 17, the said lever 17, of course, swinging in an arc of a circleon its pivot 18.

An advantageous feature of the invention is, the provision for readyremoval of the pressure plate 8. The hook 9 of the base 1, in which therear end of the plate fits loosely, forms a pivot, from which the platecan be readily removed. The removal of the plate is desirable, so as toadapt it to right and left shoes. If, for instance, the shoe upon whichthe device is shown as operating, in the drawing, is a left shoe, and itis then desired to operate upon a right sh'oe, the pressure plate isremoved from its pivot, and inverted, or, in other words, the side ofthe plate, which was before lowermost, becomes uppermost. This willadapt the recess 10 to the toe portion of a right-hand shoe. In order toremove the plate 8, however, it is also necessary to remove the rod 14.This is done by taking out bolt 19, and then turning the rod until thelength of the head portion 16, is in alinement with the elongated slot15, ofthe pressure plate. It is obvious that the rod can then be readilywithdrawn.

What I claim is:

1. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, a pressureplate having its outer end provided with an inwardlyextending recess,conforming in shape to the shape of, and adapted to surround, a shoetoe, said plate being resiliently supported and movably mounted on thebase, with its recessed end normally up-standing from the base, andmeans connected to the plate for bringing the recessed end of thepressure plate downwardly, so as to engage the outstanding margin of thetoe portion of a shoe upper.

' 2. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, apressure plate pivotally connected at one end to the base, and havingits opposite end provided With aninwardly extending recess, conformingin shape to the shape of, and adapted to surround, a shoe toe, meanscomprising a spring for normally holding the recessed end of thepressure plate up out of contact with the base, and means connected tothe plate for bringing the recessed end of the pressure plate downwardlyagainst the action of said spring, so as to engage the outstandingmargin of the toe portion of a shoe upper.

3. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, having oneend thereof upturned into hook form, a pressure plate having one endfitting loosely in the upturned hook end of the base, and therebypivoted removably to said base, and said pressure plate having itsopposite end provided with an inwardly-extending recess, conforming inshape to the shape of, and adapted to surround, a shoe toe, means fornormally holding the recessed end of the pressure plate, up out ofcontact with the base, and means for bringing the recessed end of thepressure plate downwardly, so as to engage the outstanding margin of thetoe portion of a shoe upper.

1. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, providedwith a socket, a pressure plate, having its outer end provided with aninwardly-extending recess,

conforming in shape to the shape of, and

adapted to surround, a shoe toe, said plate being movably mounted on thebase, a spring, seated in the bottom of the socket of the base, andhaving its u per end bearing against'the under side of t e pressureplate, sons to normally hold said plate in a raised position above thebase, and means for bringing the recessed end of the pressure platedownwardly against the contrary force exerted by the spring, to therebycause the edges of the recess to engage the out: standing margin of thetoe portion of a shoe upper.

5. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, providedwith a socket, a pressure plate, pivoted at its rear end to the base,and having its outer end provided with an inwardly-extending recess,conforming in shape to the shape of, and adapted to surround, a shoetee, a spring, seated in the bottom of the socket of the base, andhaving its upper end bearing against the under side of the pressureplate, so as to normally hold the recessed end of said pressure plate ina raised position, and means for bringing the recessed end of thepressure plate downwardly against the contrary force exerted by thespring, to thereby cause the edges of the recess to engage theoutstanding margin of the toe portion of the shoe upper.

6. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, providedwith a socket, a pressure plate, having its outer end provided with aninwardly-extending recess, conforming in shape to the shape of, andadapted to surround a shoe toe, said plate being movably mounted on thebase, a spring seated in the bottom of the socket of the base, andhaving its upper end bearing against the under side of the pressureplate, so as to normally hold said plate in a raised position above thebase, a bolt, connected to the pressure plate, and mechanism connectedto the bolt, and adapted, when operated, to cause a descent of the bolt,and a consequent descent of the recessed end of the pressure plate, tothereby cause the edges of the recess to engage the outstanding marginof the toe portion of a shoe up er.

7. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, providedwith a socket, a pressure plate, having its outer end provided with aninwardly-extending recess conforming in shape to the shape of, andadapted to surround, the shoe toe, said plate being movably mounted onthe base, a spring, seated in the bottom of the socket of the base, andhaving its upper end bearing against the under side of the pressureplate, so as to normally hold said plate in a raised position above thebase, a rod, passing through an opening in the base, which com municateswith the socket of said base, and through the coils of the spring withinthe socket, the upper end of said rod connected to the pressure plate,and means for causing a pull downwardly on the rod, to thereby cause adown movement of the recessed end of the pressure plate against thecontrary force exerted by the spring, to cause the edges of the recessto engage the outstanding margin of the toe portion of a shoe upper.

8. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, providedwith a socket, a pressure plate, removably and pivotally connected atone end to the base, and said plate provided at its opposite end with aninwardly-extending recess, conforming in shape to the shape of, andadapted to surround, a shoe toe, and said plate provided, intermediateof its ends, with an elongated, longitudinally-extending slot, a spring,seated in the bottom' of the socket of the base, and having its upperend bearing against the under side of the pressure plate, so as tonormally hold said plate in a raised position above the base, a rod,extending through an opening in the base, which communicates with thesocket, and also extending through the coils of the spring disposed insaid socket, and through the elongated slot of the pressure plate, theupper end of said rod provided with a head, which normally extendscrosswise over the elongated slot, a lever, to which the lower end ofthe rod is removably pivoted, and means for causing a down turning ofsaid lever.

9. In a lasting machine, the combination of a suitable base, a pressureplate, having its outer end provided with an inwardlyextending recess,conforming in shape to the shape of, and adapted to surround, a shoetoe, said plate movably mounted on the base, means for normally holdingthe recessed end of the plate upwardly, out of contact with the base, arod connected to the pressure plate, and extending downwardly therefrom,a lever, pivoted at one end, and having the lower end of the rod pivotedto an intermediate point thereof, a link, pivoted to the inner end ofthe lever, a foot treadle, pivoted at one of its ends, and having thelower end of the link pivoted to an intermediate point thereof, a dog,pivotally carried by the foot treadle, and an arc-shaped toothedupright, in conjunction with which the dog is adapted to operate, inorder to releasably hold the foot treadle at any position to which itmay be depressed.

10. In a lasting machine, the combination of a table, the top thereofprovided with a socket, a suitable base, mounted on the table top, andprovided with an opening, registering with the open upper end of thesocket, a pressure plate, having its outer end provided with aninwardly-extending recess, conforming in shape to the shape of, andadapted to surround, a shoe toe, said plate being movably mounted on thebase, a spring, seated in the socket of the table top, and extendingupwardly through the registering opening of the base, and adapted tohear at its upper end against the under side of the pressure plate,means for normally holding the recessed end of the pressure plate in araised position, and means for bringing the recessed end of the pressureplate downwardly, so as to engage the outstanding margin of the toeportion of a shoe upper.

11. In a lasting machine, the combination of a table, the top thereofprovided with an inclined socket, a suitable base, mounted on the tabletop, and provided with an inclined opening, registering with theinclined socket, a pressure plate, having its outer end provided with aninwardly-extending recess, conforming in shape to the shape of, andadapted to surround, a shoe toe, a coiled spring, seated in the inclinedsocket of the table top, and extending through the registering inclinedopening of the base, and having its upper end bear against the underside of the pressure plate,

llt

ment of the recessed end; of the pressure plate.

, In testimony whereof, I affix my signature,.in presence of twoWitnesses.

WILLIAM H. ATKINS.

means for normally holding the recessed end of said pressure plateupwardly, a bolt, connected. to the pressure plate, and extendingthrough the opening of the base, through the coils of the spring, andthrough an opening extending from the socket of the table top, and meansfor pulling down- Wardly on said bolt, to cause a down move- Witnesses:

SIDNEY H. STUART, LILLLAN G. KENNEDY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Batente,

Washington, 3. 0'.

